Review: Luck of the Devil by Patricia Eimer

Luck of the Devil 
Author: Patricia Eimer
Publication: Entangled Publishing (August 2011)


Description: Being the youngest daughter of the Devil isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. The days of teenage rebellion and vows of chastity made just to tick off her father are over, and now all Faith Bettincourt wants is a nice, quiet life. Unfortunately, thanks to the unexpected arrival of her demonically-downsized sister, a ditzy succubus roommate, and dear old Dad himself, Faith’s plans for a relaxing vacation spent watching reruns go up in flames.


Now it’s all Faith can do to keep the family reunion from Hell (literally) under wraps, and the angelically-inclined hottie across the hall from realizing there’s something weird about his neighbor. And, thankfully, it’s working. Until an angelic stalker shows up in a bid to steal her powers and take over the world.


Forget watching reruns. With the way things are going, Faith will need the luck of the Devil just to survive until Monday.

My Thoughts: This was a fun, irreverent paranormal romance. The family dynamics really put the "fun" in dysfunctional. Faith is the devil's youngest half human daughter. She tries to distance herself from the whole evil thing as she works as a pediatric nurse. But trouble just seems to keep finding her. She accuses her boss of sexual harassment and then her roommate who is a new demon eats him. They have to dispose of the body but wind up being haunted by Harold's ghost. Drugs have gone missing from her ward and, even though she is the one who reported the loss, the police want to lay the blame on her. And then there is her stalker....


To add to Faith's problems her older sister has come to live with her because her demon husband finds Jesus and destroys their cushy, soul and money stealing gig with a cult in Idaho. Her brother Tolliver who is the one who turned her roommate into a demon is also hanging around. And then her father the devil and her mother the human whackadoodle come to add their chaos to the mix.


But there is still some room for romance. She falls for the nice guy who moves in next door. It is only after he is the lawyer she calls when the police try to pin the drug theft on her that she finds out he is nephilim. Demons and nephilim aren't supposed to consort. After all, they are supposed to be on opposite teams. 


Turns out in this story that there isn't that much difference between God and Lucifer. In fact, they are brothers who are close. This was a very funny story. I laughed out loud and highlighted lots of favorite passages. Faith is trying so hard to be the calm, rational one while all around her characters are doing really irrational things. I recommend this to those who won't be offended by the radical theology and who like a funny paranormal romance. 

Favorite Quote:

"Faith Anne, what have I told you about lying?"

"It'll get you further in life than anything else as long as you can keep the story going?"

I received the eARC from Entangled Publishing via NetGalley. Here is the link for Entangled Publishing. 

ARC Review: Deadly Sins by Kylie Brant

Deadly Sins
Author: Kylie Brant
Publication: Berkley; Original edition (August 2, 2011)


Description: An unknown assassin has appointed himself judge, jury, and executioner, brutally taking out high-level human targets citywide. It's just the kind of case that will test the resolve of a tough FBI agent like Jaid Marlowe. Especially when her new partner is Adam Raiker, Jaid's former colleague-and ex-lover.


My Thoughts: This was a well-written romantic suspense story with engaging characters and a really creepy plot. Someone shoots a Supreme Court Justice and sets off a major investigation involving the FBI, Homeland Security, the US Marshall's Service and just about every other law enforcement agency in existence. Also involved because he is friends with the victim is Adam Raiker who is a former FBI agent who left the agency to start his own security firm. When the widow pulls strings to get him into the investigation, he is paired with Jaid Marlowe who was a former colleague and ex-lover.


The tension is high between Adam and Jaid as they must work together. Adam had forced Jaid out of his life both to protect her and to protect his own secrets. He is a very closed individual who doesn't share anything about his past. He is also in lots of danger and wants to keep her safe. Jaid is no delicate flower. She is an experienced and competent FBI agent. She is more than willing to question Adam's decisions which makes her very different than Adam's other colleagues.

The story had an interesting cast of characters including the FBI agent who was once Adam's partner and who is now in charge of the investigation of the Justice's death, the priest who acted as a friend and mentor of the young Adam and who has now made some questionable choices, the partner of Adam's who might just have a serious gambling problem.

Then there is the villain who is a criminal mastermind responsible for the deaths of five people and who is determined to pin the crime on Adam. The story refers to lots of events that happened in the past but I never felt lost or confused. Enough information was given to make me feel like I knew enough. However, I did immediately go out and buy the other five books in the Mindhunters series.

The writing style was clean and crisp. I liked the balance between dialog and description. The pacing was fast and furious as the story continued. I recommend this story to lovers of romantic suspense even though the actual romance didn't kick in until 60% of the story was told. The tension between Adam and Jaid was built nicely through the story.


Favorite Quote (may be different in published version of book):

"You may not realize you need my help until it's too late."

"And you might piss him off so much by rushing to the rescue that he'll go after the information about Royce regardless." Their gazes battled. Sparks all but jumped between them. Steel meeting flint. "Leave it alone. Or so help me, I'll tell him about you being afraid of mimes."

"Freaks of nature," he muttered. "But I'm not afraid of them."

I received this signed ARC from the author for review. You can get your copy at Amazon.

Ask Stan (Hard Spell by Justin Gustainis)

I recently read and loved Hard Spell by Justin Gustainis. You can see my review here. This book was quality urban fantasy with a terrific main character.


I am pleased to let Stan Markowski answer questions today (courtesy of Justin Gustainis.)

******************

Dear Sergeant Stan

An Advice Column on Matters Supernatural

By

Detective Sgt. Stanley Markowski

Occult Crimes Unit

Scranton Police Department

Dear Sgt. Stan: I’m in kind of a quandary.  There’s this really hot girl where I work, and I was thinking of asking her out.  But everybody in the office says she’s a witch.  Should I stay away? 

Signed, Uncertain.

Dear Uncertain:

You’re smart to be careful when dealing with the supernatural.  But even if the lady in question is a witch (and are you sure the people you work with didn’t describe her using a word that begins with a different letter?  I’m just saying.), it doesn’t have to be a barrier to romance.

The most important question is: what kind of a witch is she – white or black?  I’m not talking about race here.  I mean, what kind of magic does she practice?  White magic gets its power from the Earth, from nature, and, some witches say, from a Goddess.  Black magic gets its mojo from Satan, pure and simple.  This is important, because followers of the right-hand path (as white witches are sometimes called) can’t use magic to hurt you.  A white magic spellbook, for example, doesn’t contain any curses – although I once heard some when a white witch I know dropped the book on her foot.  It’s pretty heavy.

On the other hand, followers of the left-hand path use black magic is used to hurt people – that’s why it exists. 

Is dating a “black” witch dangerous?  Does a vampire ever turn down a Bloody Mary?

So, you need to find out what kind of witch this lady is, before you try playing “hide the salamander” with her.  How do you do that?

You could always come right out and ask her.  But that gets complicated, because a white witch will tell you the truth, but a black witch may lie (all the better to work her evil ways on you later).  Then you’re in the middle of one of those puzzles that always make my head hurt: “Gnomes and trolls look almost exactly alike.  But gnomes always tell the truth, while trolls always lie.  So how do you ….”  I hate those things.

A better way might be to ask some casual questions, and pay close attention to the answers.  Try a few of these:

“So, been to any good black masses lately?”

“A buddy of mine wants to have his boss turned into a toad.  Know anybody who could help him with that?”

“I think Satan got a pretty bad rap from the Bible, don’t you?”

“A coven in my neighborhood is planning to sacrifice an infant under the next full moon, which is tomorrow night.  I don’t have a date yet – wanna go?”

The answers to questions like that should give you a pretty good idea what kind of magic the young lady practices.  If it’s white, then go; if it’s black, just say “No.”

A word of advice if you do end up on a date with a white witch: don’t make stupid jokes about pointy hats, cauldrons, or black cats.  She’s heard them all a million times.  And, whatever you do, don’t tell her this one: “Why doesn’t Griselda wear any underwear on Halloween?  To get a better grip on her broom.”  Just because she can’t turn you into a toad doesn’t mean she won’t throw a drink in your face.

In the soup over a supe?  Sgt Stan answers your supernatural questions every Wednesday – just write to him care of this website.

Justin Gustainis is the author of two recent novels.  In Hard Spell, Detective Sgt. Stan Markowski fights supernatural evil in an “alternate” Scranton, PA.  You can read the first fifty pages for free at the Angry Robot Books website, here:  http://angryrobotbooks.com/our-authors/justin-gustainis/hard-spell-justin-gustainis/

Justin’s other book is Sympathy for the Devil, third in the “Morris Chastain Occult Investigations” series.  In this one, occult investigator Quincey Morris and his partner, “white” witch Libby Chastain, try to stop demon-possessed Presidential candidate Howard Stark before he can win the White House and then destroy the world.  You can read excerpts by using the “Search Inside the Book” feature on the book’s Amazon page, which is here.

Justin is sponsoring a huge “Easter Egg” contest in conjunction with the book’s release (First Prize: a $50 Amazon gift card and you get a character named after you in the next Morris/Chastain book.  Details are on Justin’s website: www.justingustainis.com.

And while you’re on the web, be aware that there a site that appears to be a campaign page for a creepy guy named Howard Stark, who says he’s running for President.  But Howard is a fictional character, so this dude can’t really be … nah!  You probably should stay away from this website, www.starkforamerica.com.  The content is too disturbing.

RETRIBUTION by Sherrilyn Kenyon Trailer and Giveaway

I was already excited for the newest book in Sherrilyn Kenyon's Dark Hunters series. Retribution sounds like a great addition to the series. And I am even more excited after seeing this trailer:

Here is the product description:

"...Harm no human…

A hired gunslinger, William Jessup Brady lived his life with one foot in the grave. He believed that every life had a price. Until the day when he finally found a reason to live. In one single act of brutal betrayal, he lost everything, including his life. Brought back by a Greek goddess to be one of her Dark-Hunters, he gave his immortal soul for vengeance and swore he’d spend eternity protecting the humans he’d once considered prey.

Orphaned as a toddler, Abigail Yager was taken in by a family of vampires and raised on one belief- Dark-Hunters are the evil who prey on both their people and mankind, and they must all be destroyed. While protecting her adoptive race, she has spent her life eliminating the Dark-Hunters..."     

What do you think? Would you like to win a copy? Thanks to Zeitghost Media and St. Martins Press I have one copy of the book to give away to someone from the US or Canada.

Here are the rules:

• Entrants must be older than 13
• Entrants must live in the US or Canada
• Entrants do NOT have to follow Inside of a Dog (but it would be nice)
• Entrants must fill out the form
• Entries close at Midnight CDT on August 11, 2011
• Winner will be chosen using Random.org

Fill out this form to make your entry.

Good luck!

Teaser Tuesday: Luck of the Devil by Patricia Eimer

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

Share the title and author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

I recently received this eARC of Luck of the Devil by Patricia Eimer from Entangled Publishing. It was pitched to me as a young adult book but I don't think so from the 1% I have read so far. Here's my teaser:

"Maybe it's not as bad as it looks, though?"


"Lisa, you sucked Harold dry. In his underwear. And you're dressed in a cheerleading uniform that's two sized too small. How can it not be as bad as it look?"

What do you think? Here's the product description from GoodReads:

Being the youngest daughter of the Devil isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. The days of teenage rebellion and vows of chastity made just to tick off her father are over, and now all Faith Bettincourt wants is a nice, quiet life. Unfortunately, thanks to the unexpected arrival of her demonically-downsized sister, a ditzy succubus roommate, and dear old Dad himself, Faith’s plans for a relaxing vacation spent watching reruns go up in flames.

Now it’s all Faith can do to keep the family reunion from Hell (literally) under wraps, and the angelically-inclined hottie across the hall from realizing there’s something weird about his neighbor. And, thankfully, it’s working. Until an angelic stalker shows up in a bid to steal her powers and take over the world. 

Forget watching reruns. With the way things are going, Faith will need the luck of the Devil just to survive until Monday.

July 2011 in Summary

July was another good reading month for me. I managed to read a little bit better than 1 book a day. July was mostly a sit quietly at home and read month for me. However, I did have a friend visit for 4 days and did take a one-day road trip to attend an author signing.

I read 33 books and 10,055 pages. You can check out the list of books I read on my spreadsheet here. I have written reviews for all but one of the books I read last month but some won't be published for a while. I am scheduled about two weeks ahead on both of my blogs.

Some of the highlights:

• I read 16 young adult books this month.
• I read thirteen books each in my Mystery & Suspense challenge and my Science Fiction & Futuristic challenge.
• I read 15 ebooks on my Kindle this month.

I read a number of excellent books this month but I will have to say that Hard Spell by Justin Gustainis was my favorite. My review is here.

Now for the TBR List (You can get the details here at my LibraryThing Account):

• I began the month with 1111 books marked To Read in my LibraryThing Account.
• I ended the month with 1142 books marked To Read.

I added 74 new books in July.

• 15 of the books are for review
• 12 of the books were free for my Kindle
• 54 of them are still on my TBR pile

I have just begun my last month of summer vacation. I begin work again on August 29. I have only one 3 day disruption scheduled when I travel back to work for a one day workshop. Hey, I'm a good four hours away during the summer. I have to allow a day on either side of the workshop for travel.

All in all it was a pretty good month.

Review: Breaking Point by Pamela Clare

Breaking Point (An I-Team Novel)
Author: Pamela Clare
Publication: Berkley (May 3, 2011)


Description: Denver journalist Natalie Benoit and Deputy U.S. Marshal Zach McBride find themselves captives of a bloodthirsty Mexican drug cartel. Working together, they escape through the desert toward the border, the attraction between them flaring hotter than the Sonoran sun. They fight to stay ahead of the danger that hunts them as forces more powerful than they can imagine conspire to destroy them both...


My Thoughts: This was a great romantic suspense story. I liked that the heroine was not just a helpless victim. Natalie Benoit had already faced far more than her share of heartbreak and trauma even before she was kidnapped off a bus of journalists in Juarez, Mexico. She had survived a murder attempt in New Orleans and lost her parents and fiance during Hurricane Katrina. She had locked down her emotions and was carrying on as an investigative reporter in Denver. 


When she finds herself in the cell next door to Zach who had also been captured by the drug cartel and was being tortured, she is the one who managed to rescue both of them. Zach is a Deputy US Marshall who is undercover to try to bring down the cartel. Of course, he can't share that with Natalie. She thinks he is some sort of criminal. But they have to trust one another as they travel across the Mexican-US border avoiding the cartel and other criminals who are on the same trek. 


Zach is also a struggling survivor of trauma. He was a Navy SEAL who lost his whole squad of friends when they were ambushed by the Taliban in Afghanistan. He won the Medal of Honor but couldn't deal with the Post Traumatic Stress after he left the service. He joined the Marshall Service so that he could feel that his life had some meaning but he was sort of looking for a way to die. 


When they saw each other, they both gained a new reason to live. But the path to their "happy ever after" was filled with lots of danger and some really creepy villains.


This is the fifth book in this series and lots of characters from earlier stories make appearances and have a role in this one. I have not read the others and found this one perfectly clear and understandable. However, meeting some of the side characters intrigued me and made me want to go back and get the rest of the books in this series so that I can find out their stories.


This is nicely spicy romantic suspense that is a great example of the genre.


Favorite Quote:

Her brows settled into a delicate frown. "I know I'm not a geography whiz, but my recollection is that Iraq and Afghanistan lie somewhat to the east, while the desert we intend to cross is in a more northerly direction."

Why did her accent make every damn thing she said seem charming, even when she was being a smartass?

I bought this one from Amazon. You can get your copy here.